


Gotta Love the City (Wakaba and Saionji’s first {actual} date)

by celastris



Series: saionji and wakaba~ (it’s my future au pls just trust me-- this series is the DEFINITION OF TRUST THE PROCESS) [3]
Category: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Genre: F/M, Fluff, also my only goal in life is to make saionji likeable and as insane as that seems imma DO IT, for context read the past 2, i finally wrote the date YEET, i have so many headcanons about wakabas backstory please dont fight me or ill cry, my au takes place 6 years after ohtori btw if u havent read any of my other fics, rated T for a lil kiss at the end but its honestly nothing crazy, this is a part of a series, utena and kozue only mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:47:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27873286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celastris/pseuds/celastris
Summary: Wakaba and Saionji finally go on the date! They're both pretty nervous, reasonably so-- Wakaba unsure whether or not Saionji has actually changed, and Saionji scared of screwing things up beyond repair. Will things go well, or will they go to hell in a handbag? Only one way to find out! (hint: its reading this fic)
Relationships: Saionji Kyouichi/Shinohara Wakaba
Series: saionji and wakaba~ (it’s my future au pls just trust me-- this series is the DEFINITION OF TRUST THE PROCESS) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2031082
Kudos: 6





	Gotta Love the City (Wakaba and Saionji’s first {actual} date)

**Author's Note:**

> this is actually a part of a little series leading up to this date, so if you wanna read the past 2 fics in the series for context you can! also, it takes place in my fun utena universe im constructing, 6 years after ohtori. if that interests you, read some of my other fics! they all take place in the same universe :)
> 
> also the italics were not cooperating with me so shhhhhhh

Saionji had to restrain himself from running his hand nervously through his hair, reminding himself that he’d finally done a decent job of styling it (after _quite_ a few tries). It was pulled back into a loose ponytail, a few of the forest-green pieces still falling by his face regardless of his efforts to tuck them away. 

It was 6:15, something he took note of as he pulled his phone from his pocket to check the time. At this rate he'd be cutting it close if he took any longer, so, taking one last look at his reflection in his chipped bedroom mirror, he got up to leave. He smoothed out the dark button up he was wearing, keeping the sleeves rolled up out of habit before patting his jean pockets for his wallet and making his way to the front door. 

He grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter as he passed it, making his way to the haphazard pile of shoes he kept near the door. One of these days he meant to actually organize them, but with the stress of work he couldn't do much but kick them off at the door each day, for now. He fished his boots out and leaned against the wall, bending to lace them up. His hands were a little shaky, but he finished and slipped his coat on before switching the lights off, walking out of his apartment, and locking the door behind him. 

The café they were meeting at was much closer to Wakaba’s side of the city than his, leaving Saionji to either gamble with the nightmare of trying to parallel park in a crowded city, walk an insanely long route, or take the subway.

He took the subway.

After fighting with the card reader for a couple of minutes, he managed to get through the gate and barely make his train, having to stand with how jam-packed it was. It was around 6:40 at this point, so he figured these were people getting off work for the day. Saionji fixed his gaze on the ground, wringing his hands and anxiously tapping his foot as he did his best not to catastrophize this entire outing in his head before it even happened. A jerky stop that almost knocked him off his feet harshly interrupted his daze, earning him a sympathetic smile from the elderly woman sitting across from him as he hurriedly left the train car. 

He pulled his phone from his coat pocket as he made his way through the turnstile and up the stone steps, making sure not to bump into anyone in the periphery of his vision as he pulled up the maps app and checked the address once again. The café was only a few blocks away from this station, luckily, as it was 6:55 and he had minutes to spare. _Hey,_ he thought to himself, letting out a nervous laugh, _at least I'm not technically late!_

The sign came into view as he turned the corner, hanging parallel to the café-front and swinging lightly in the breeze. It read _Café Maroc_ in a minimalistic beige font in katakana, as well as the roman lettering printed below it. It seemed like a pretty generic name for a Moroccan cafe, but Wakaba had seemed pretty enthusiastic about the place, so who was he to question? Approaching the building, he was met with a modestly sized cafe with a rustic wood front and large glass windows. It seemed nice, not too fancy and relatively unassuming, and this put him slightly at ease as he took a deep breath and pulled open the front door. 

Inside he was met with a moderately sized setting, with eight or nine tables scattered throughout the room, pale beige walls adorned with different foreign artworks and photos, a worn medium-brown wood floor, and a bar off to the side yielding a variety of pastries on display. Above this was a large wall-mounted menu, a register manned by an employee in a brown apron, and a back door that Saionji presumed led to the kitchen. A few tables were occupied, the one closest to him seating a group of three people laughing, and another table on the far end by a couple chatting quietly. 

Saionji heard his name and turned to see Wakaba waving to him from the table nearest the storefront window. She stood next to the chair facing him, sporting her typical infectious smile, a small one spreading across Saionji’s face in turn as he walked over to meet her. 

Her auburn hair was down, pinned away from her face on one side with a few bobby pins, and not much noticeable makeup other than what looked like a small amount of mauve (he guessed? Saionji was never great with colors), eyeshadow. She wore a rose-pink turtleneck sweater, slightly oversized and tucked into a pair of green button-up shorts, layered over mock thigh-high tights with cute little cat faces on the upper thighs. Other than that, she wore a pair of brown lace-up boots and had her bag slung over the back of her chair. 

“Hi!!” She greeted him energetically, taking a seat as he approached the table. 

“Hey-sorry for cutting it close, the train was being difficult today,” Saionji replied with a nervous chuckle, taking a seat and shrugging his coat off before draping it on the back of his chair. 

“When isn’t it difficult?” Wakaba sighed dramatically, waving a hand dismissively as she rolled her eyes. Saionji released a bit of the tension in his shoulders, glad he hadn’t come off poorly before things had even started. 

“So, this place seems really nice, how’d you find it?” he asked, doing his best to break the ice by starting with a question about her. Kozue had mentioned (read: mercilessly roasted), him in regards to the fact that he had a tendency to talk about himself too much. That was a little hypocritical coming from her, but it was even more incentive to avoid doing that the best he could.

“Well I don’t know if I’ve mentioned my parents to you before? So I have two dads, well I guess one is _technically _a stepdad, my mom and dad divorced when I was much younger so I don't see her all too much," she explained, "but my biological dad was actually born and raised in the U.S. before moving here!"__

____

Saionji nodded nonchalantly at this, as it was no big deal and (modern-day at least, I'm the author and I make the rules), Saionji isn't a fucking _homophobe _, as Wakaba continued, "Like, he’s Japanese, but he grew up in New York City, which was super diverse apparently, and that's why my dad made so much international food for us growing up! So yeah, long story short, my dad showed me this place when he came up to visit me this one time a few years back!” She stopped to take a sip of water before looking back up and reddening a bit.__

_____ _

“Sorry, I went off on a rant there,” she mumbled, laughing under her breath nervously as she set the glass down, folding her hands neatly in her lap. 

_____ _

“I had no idea, where in New York City?” Saionji inquired, not actually knowing anything about New York City but wanting to sound interested.

_____ _

“Brooklyn! I’m not really sure where in Brooklyn, I’ve never been there, but I'd love to go one day! Not that I’m expecting to gather the money for a plane ticket on an entry level teacher’s salary anytime soon, but a person can dream,” she sighed dramatically, feigning a swoon with a hand to her forehead.

_____ _

“I’m sure you’ll get to go one day,” Saionji chuckled, “and when you do, you have to tell me how it goes- I’ve heard Americans do a lot of _weird_ things,” he said, gesturing assertively with a comically serious voice, causing Wakaba to let out another giggle. 

_____ _

“Will do! Also, not to derail the conversation at all, but we should probably order something,” Wakaba said, unfolding one of the paper menus in front of her and sliding the other to Saionji. The menu was full of dishes he’d never heard of, and while he wasn’t opposed to trying new things, he didn’t even know where to begin. 

_____ _

“Is there anything on here that you would suggest? You’re the expert,” he asked.

_____ _

“Well I wouldn’t call myself an _expert,_ but there are two things here that you've gotta try! One of them would be the bastilla for sure— it’s like sort of a pastry but not? It’s Moroccan, it has shredded chicken inside, with phyllo dough on the outside and powdered sugar and nuts on top. I know that pairing sugar and chicken might sound a bit odd, but you GOTTA trust me on this one,” she responded, lightly rapping her menu against the table for emphasis. 

_____ _

“If it’s good enough to warrant _that_ passionate of a suggestion, then it must be delicious—I’ll do that—and what was the other thing?” Saionji inquired nonchalantly, glossing over the fact that he _barely_ passed geography in high school and had no idea where Morocco is. Wakaba looked a bit confused at this, unclear as to what he was referencing for a moment.

_____ _

“What other thing?” 

_____ _

“You said ‘two’, that there are two things I have to try from here?”

_____ _

“Oh yeah! Sorry, my bad, the second thing is the knefah!” she said, expression morphing from one of confusion to another bubbly grin. 

_____ _

“Isn’t that the name of the café?” Saionji asked, remembering the sign he had seen on the way in. 

_____ _

“Yeah! It’s been their signature dish for years now, hence the name I guess," Saionji nodded, satisfied with her simple answer.

_____ _

“I’m guessing you haven’t had it?” He shook his head to this, and she continued. 

_____ _

“So basically, it has this warm sort of sweet cream and cheese base, with some flaky pastry stuff on top? I’m no good at explanations, but I promise it’ll make sense once you try it, it is _incredible_ ," Wakaba gestured wildly with her hands, clearly very excited about ordering the dish. 

_____ _

Saionji smiled, amused by how enthusiastic she was about the food. He gave her a nod of agreement, and before he could offer, she grabbed their menus and swiftly got up to walk to the register, ordering for the both of them. 

_____ _

He checked his phone under the table as she stood at the register, talking to the employee, to see 20+ texts from Kozue. They were mostly asking if he had ruined the date yet, (and also about the 90 day fiancé episode he was missing tonight, but he had it set to record on his DVR so it was alright), so he shut his phone off and ignored them, sliding it back into his pocket. 

_____ _

Wakaba was still at the counter, chatting with the man standing behind it. She really did look cute, (and he could not remember the last time he referred to someone as ‘cute’ without intending it condescendingly). His nerves were still very much present, despite nothing going wrong so far, but before he could start working himself up again he was snapped out of his train of thought. 

_____ _

Saionji could faintly hear the two finishing up their conversation at the front, in English it seemed like. He supposed that made sense, with her dad and all, but it started to hit him how little he actually knew about the girl—he couldn’t have guessed _half_ of the things he’d learned about her in the past 45 minutes alone. 

_____ _

She made her way back to the table, smiling as she sat down. 

_____ _

“Ok the order is all set, so they’ll bring the food over when it’s ready—which normally doesn’t take too long,” Wakaba explained as she settled into her seat, crossing her legs under the table, “anyways, I’ve been talking about myself for awhile—what’s happening with you? How’s work and all?”

_____ _

“That’s always a fun question,” he responded, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand as he responded, “I’m sure you hear a fair amount of it from Utena, but there are definitely some _interesting_ people who come to the gym.”

_____ _

Saionji spend the next 10 or so minutes ranting about the various incidents he’d had to deal with over the past few weeks, from breaking up a few fights, to an older man flashing people at random in the women’s locker room, to helping Utena with someone who got a concussion lifting without a spotter, and so on. He did his best to leave out the shallowly malicious rivalry between him and Utena at the gym, instead choosing to talk about the rest of their shitty coworkers and their various douchey behaviors. 

_____ _

Wakaba listened attentively with her head perched in her hands, nodding along and laughing where laughter was due. Sooner than Saionji had expected, a different employee came over to them with three plates balanced on her arms, two entrees and the one pastry. The two thanked her as she set the dishes down, assuring everything was in order before walking back to the kitchen. 

_____ _

“This smells great! You have to tell me what’s what before we start,” Saionji prompted. While it was relatively easy to guess what was what, he didn’t mind asking, as it meant he got to hear her talk more. Her face lit up as she begain to explain, pointing out the bastilla before excitedly talking about the dish in front of her. 

_____ _

“So this one here is harira,” she gestured to the reddish-brown stew in front of her, “it’s a soup with vegetables, beef, lentil and some other stuff—here you should try some!! If you want, of course,” she offered, pushing the bowl towards him a little. He agreed with a chuckle, tasting a small spoonful of it before returning the spoon and sliding it back to her. 

_____ _

“Wow, that’s really good, you’ve got good taste,” he replied, Wakaba blushing a bit as she waved off his compliment dismissively. He reacted just as positively upon trying the bastilla, definitely surprised by the taste but enjoying it nonetheless. The two took their time eating, stopping every so often to make light conversation, until they’d mostly finished their respective plates. Wakaba clasped her hands together and smiled as they did. 

_____ _

“Okay, it’s time for the knefah—I can’t promise you’ll like it, but it is literally my favorite food on this earth so hopefully you will!!” She chirped excitedly, taking a minute to cut the rectangular pastry into pieces before sliding the plate to the center of the table. She stared at him intently, a little creepily but he figured that would be rude to mention, as he took a piece with his fork to try. 

_____ _

Saionji had thought she was being dramatic, but upon tasting it he couldn’t help but agree with her wholeheartedly. It was amazing, with the sweetness of the cream contrasting the faint tang of the cheese, and the flaky upper layer adding a nice crunch to the warm and slightly melting underside. The top was garnished with a bit of powdered sugar and some crumbled pistachio, further adding to the delicious complexity of it. 

_____ _

“Oh my god, this is _incredible,_ ” he said, covering his mouth with one hand as he chewed. 

_____ _

“Oh really? If it isn’t you don’t have to say that to be nice, it’s totally—”

_____ _

“No, I mean it,” Saionji asserted, cutting her off, “this is incredible and it's tragic that it took me 23 years to discover it!”

_____ _

Wakaba giggled, reddening a bit at the praise as she played with her hands in her lap, giving a small nod of gratitude. The two finished off the pastry in comfortable silence, utensils clanking softly on the porcelain as they set them down. 

_____ _

“Here, let me get the bill,” Saionji said, taking out his wallet and scooting his chair out to get up and go to the register. 

_____ _

“No, it’s okay!” Wakaba interjected, trying to stop him to no avail. 

_____ _

“Sorry, you can’t stop me, I already pulled my wallet out and it would be FAR too exhausting to put it back,” he said jokingly, standing and briskly walking to the bar before she could argue any further. Besides already intending on paying, he remembered Utena’s threat from earlier that week if he didn’t.

_____ _

Saionji paid up front and thanked the employee before returning to the table, Wakaba mumbling something about him not having to pay for everything as the two stood up to leave. He took his coat from the back of his seat and pulled it on, Wakaba picking her bag up from where it was hung on the back of her chair as well. 

_____ _

Wakaba called out a final ‘thank you’ as the two left, walking outside to find it dark. The redhead slipped her phone out of her bag to check the time, around 9:00 pm, before sliding it back in and zipping it closed. She lived about 20-25 minutes away, and while she felt a little bad about Saionji walking with her that far in the cold, she was having too good of a time to object, and kept the concern to herself. 

_____ _

The two made small talk for awhile, until Saionji noticed her out of the corner of his eye shaking a bit. Being that it was late autumn and pretty cold at night, her being clad in only a sweater wasn't doing her any favors. Stubborn as he knew her to be nowadays, he was positive she wouldn’t bring up the matter herself, so he decided to speak up. 

_____ _

“Hey, are you cold?” He asked frankly, stopping the two of them for a moment. Wakaba let out a dismissive laugh and waved him off, caught a little off guard by the comment. 

_____ _

“I’m alright, don’t worry!” She replied, despite her body betraying this sentiment, physically shivering, the small part of her upper thigh exposed between her shorts and the opaque section of her stockings covered in goosebumps, “I thought it wouldn’t be this cold, so it’s my fault for not checking the weather really— don’t worry about it!”

_____ _

She was a really shitty liar, Saionji noted. 

_____ _

“Here, take my coat,” he said, shrugging it off his shoulders to hand to her. She shook her head, putting her hands out defensively to try and stop him. 

_____ _

“No! I don’t want you to be cold, I’ll be fine!” She pleaded with a forced smile.

_____ _

“Nope,” he said dismissively, “it’s already off so either you take it, or I give it to the next person I see on the street. Besides, if you freeze to death, you’d essentially be sentencing me to execution-via-Utena, which I imagine would be pretty fucking painful,” he laughed, feigning irritation as the shorter girl’s cheeks burned.

_____ _

“Well if there’s no changing your mind, then _fine_ ,” she sighed, rolling her eyes with a giggle as she took the coat and slipped it on. 

_____ _

Saionji pretended to cough into his arm, turning away to try and hide the faint blush on his cheeks. He wasn't a fan of this, as he almost never blushed, but to be fair Wakaba looked adorable with the hilariously oversized jacket on. ‘Adorable’ was another word he rarely found himself using outside of the context of an insult, but it reached down to just above the back of her knees with the sleeves falling far past her hands, dwarfing her frame almost comedically. 

_____ _

Once he’d regained his composure, he _very_ quickly un-regained it as Wakaba slipped her hand in his as casually as she could, hovering a moment to ensure they were both comfortable before interlocking their fingers. The two continued to meander down the block, chatting here and there but mostly just enjoying one another’s company. 

_____ _

Before they knew it, they found themselves in front of Wakaba’s apartment complex, both of them a little disappointed for the night to come to an end, but more than content with the evening they’d had. It was one that _far_ exceeded both of their expectations. Saionji wasn’t a mind reader, and not always the most perceptive, but as far as he could tell it had gone pretty well and they had both seemed to have a genuinely good time. 

_____ _

The two just stood there awkwardly for a little, not quite knowing what to do next. He definitely wanted to kiss her, (not a huge surprise there), but being that the main goal of the night was to be as, for lack of a better word, ‘un-Touga-like’ as possible, the last thing he wanted to do was put any unnecessary pressure on her. While he figured it wouldn’t be fair to assume she hadn’t grown more independent over what was becoming quite a few years now, it also seemed to be the polite thing to do. He kept this in mind as he turned to her to speak. 

_____ _

“This was really nice, thank you for coming out tonight,” he nervously chuckled, pushing a stray lock of hair behind his ear with his free hand as he felt his cheeks redden even further. 

_____ _

“Of course!! I had a great time too, and if I’m being honest, I didn’t expect tonight to go this well at _all_ ,” Wakaba replied with an anxious sigh, averting her gaze to the side as she continued, “you’ve changed a lot more than I thought, Saionji." Her voice lowered in volume as she smiled faintly. Saionji didn’t answer for a second, leading Wakaba to backtrack, making eye contact once more as she rambled apologetically. 

_____ _

“I’m sorry, that was a weird thing to say—” he quickly cut her off before she could continue, raising a hand. 

_____ _

“Don’t apologize Wakaba, it’s alright,” he replied, an amused ring to his voice, “I’m glad you think so. It means a lot.” The pale girl turned even redder, which was somehow possible, and gently slipped her hand from his. She then stood there a minute, seemingly lost in thought. 

_____ _

He assumed she was going to fare him a good night and leave, and thus stood there expectantly, waiting for her next move. To his surprise, she didn’t do this, rather stepping a bit closer to him to speak in a hushed, somewhat shaky tone. 

_____ _

“Um,” she began, nervously wringing her hands as she continued, gaze shifting to the ground once again, “I’m going to ask you something, and if you’d rather not I totally understand, and I’m sorry for assuming or anything—” she trailed off into an indiscernible mumble at the end of her phrase. 

_____ _

“Yes?” Saionji replied, not concerned so much as confused at this. 

_____ _

“Is it alright if I kiss you?” Wakaba asked quietly, tone barely above a whisper before feeding into a more nervous, frantic one, “If not it is 100% okay, I’m not trying to be presumptuous or anything like that and—"

_____ _

Understanding what was happening now, he leaned in closer, effectively quieting a now tomato-red Wakaba. He could practically feel the heat radiating off of her face at this point as he placed a thumb under her chin, tilting her gaze up to meet his. 

_____ _

“I wouldn’t mind that at all,” he whispered back with a smirk, voice the tiniest bit smug but still sincere for the most part as he dipped down to bridge their sizeable height gap. With almost a foot between the two, she had to stand on her toes as well, wrapping her arms around his neck for support as the two leaned in. 

_____ _

She, surprisingly enough, took the initiative, pressing her lips against his as she smiled into the kiss. He held her face in his hands and ran his thumbs across her cheeks as he pulled her closer, feeling her relax and sigh into the kiss. Unsurprisingly, they both tasted for the most part like mediterranean pastry, with a touch of strawberry lip balm on Wakaba’s end. 

_____ _

She moved her hands from the back of his neck to thread her fingers through his hair, doing a good job to ruin his ponytail beyond recognition, but Saionji could care less about that. She smelled like warm vanilla and faint pencil shavings, assuming that the latter came from the constant classroom exposure. Her skin was unimaginably soft under his hands, and he couldn’t help but wish this moment could last for hours. 

_____ _

However, this did not end up being the case, as the two quickly broke apart at the sound of what, upon turning to look, was a relatively creepy older man wolf-whistling at them as he slowly walked by. _Gotta love the fucking city,_ Saionji thought to himself, barely holding back from punching the shit out of this motherfucker. 

_____ _

Wakaba folded her arms over her chest awkwardly and took a step back as Saionji barked at the man to fuck off in the most threatening tone he could muster, glaring at him and flipping him the bird as he walked off laughing. 

_____ _

“People suck,” the redhead sighed, moving her hands to rest on her hips as she shook her head with an exasperated sigh. Saionji laughed a little as she pouted, turning back to face her once the man was out of sight. 

_____ _

“Hey, that’s the city for you I guess,” he chuckled, Wakaba rolling her eyes in agreement. 

_____ _

“Well,” she said, clasping her hands in front of her, “this is goodnight, I guess? Thank you for a great night,” she said with yet another blush, meeting his eyes as she smiled warmly. As infectious as she was, Saionji couldn’t help but smile back himself. 

_____ _

“I guess it is, and I could say the same to you, so thank you,” he shoved his hands in his pockets to avoid fidgeting as he continued, “for giving me another chance. You didn’t have to, and I really appreciate it.”

_____ _

Wakaba shook her head dismissively, waving the compliment off as nothing, (unconvincingly). Before he could say anything else, she came up to him quicker than he could register and stood on her toes, kissing him every so slightly before turning on her heels to walk up her apartment complex’s steps. 

_____ _

“Goodnight, Saionji!” She called out to him with a bright, toothy smile and a wave, before pulling the door open and disappearing inside the building. 

_____ _

Saionji just stood there on the sidewalk, grinning like an idiot and dazed at the fact that this did _not_ go horribly. Not by any means—it went better than he could have imagined. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this genuinely, holistically _good_ , in every sense of the word. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this genuinely okay, by far the most okay he had been with himself in years. 

_____ _

He knew he was _far_ from perfect, that went without saying. He knew that he had so much to make up for, so much to do, so much to grow, even after all these years, but for the first time in a long time,

_____ _

Saionji felt like, maybe, he wasn’t _entirely_ irredeemable after all. 

_____ _

*********************************************************************************

_____ _

10:16 PM  
**Wakaba** : i forgot i was still wearing your jacket, i’m sorry!! i could try and come by as soon as i’m free to return it? sorry!!

_____ _

**Saionji** : Don’t worry about it, there’s no rush!

_____ _

**Saionji** : If anything, you can just return it next time we go out, if you’re up to it~

_____ _

**Wakaba** : ok!!!! that sounds great, can’t wait!!! :D

_____ _

**Author's Note:**

> ayyyyy you lived-- for those of yall who've read the past two fics, did this live up to your expectations or did i severely overhype it lmao? lemme know if you want!! also if you liked this fic, drop some kudos or a comment, im always down for constructive criticism!! also, all my utena fics exist in this same hellscape universe so if you're into that yr welcome to read some of my other stuff!! thank you!! :D
> 
> (also sorry for the rants about mediterranean food and the instances of borderline cheesy fluff, im ethnic and also Projecting so shh)
> 
> also, bonus:
> 
> Utena: So, how did it go?
> 
> Wakaba: Amazing!! He actually asked me questions about myself and stuff!!
> 
> Utena: Jesus christ the bar really is on the floor isn't it,,,,, thank god i'm a lesbian


End file.
